The Liverpool star won the huge majority of votes ahead of Sunday’s Serbia opener
The majority of England fans believe that Trent Alexander-Arnold should start in midfield at Euro 2024.
A poll on FootballJOE Instagram revealed that 87 per cent of supporters would be in favour of the Liverpool star being named in a midfield role this summer.
Despite regularly operating as a right-back at club level for Liverpool, Southgate has recently tested his versatility in midfield, in an experiment that’s paid dividends ahead of the tournament.
With recently-crowned Champions League winner Jude Bellingham likely to operate further forward in the midfield, it means Declan Rice needs a partner in the centre of the park.
There is an abundance of options in this position, with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher providing recent impressive performances when called upon.
Kobbie Mainoo has also burst onto the scene as an England international this year, earning national plaudits for his exceptional player-of-the-match showing against Belgium in March, a time in which he was only 18 years of age.
Highest rated right-backs in the Premier League in 2023/24 (20+ apps):
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) May 23, 2024
◎ 7.12 – Trent Alexander-Arnold
◎ 7.07 – Kieran Trippier
◎ 7.04 – Pedro Porro
◎ 6.95 – Diogo Dalot
◎ 6.93 – Ben White#WhoScoredAwards https://t.co/mU2TI6VnJf pic.twitter.com/27oFCe4ZbC
Another player that will give Gareth Southgate a selection headache is Crystal Palace’s midfield general Adam Wharton. Signed from Championship Blackburn Rovers only in January, his transformation in such a short period has been monumental.
With an impressive cameo versus Bosnia on his Three Lions debut leading up to the tournament, there have been calls for him to start too.
However, Southgate has mostly toyed with the idea of Alexander-Arnold being the starting midfielder. Not only has he been awarded the iconic number 8 shirt, but he has also never looked out of place in the newly adopted position.
In the final warm-up game versus Iceland, Alexander-Arnold came on as a substitute and created the most chances in the England team (3), despite only playing 25 minutes.
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